The McCook tribune. (McCook, Neb.) 1886-1936, 1887-04-07

49, 49,
did not, rs YOU and | do, with egotistl-
cal SUFFICIENTLY. impose h own moods
on nature. The thrilling exuberance
of springtime, the yoluptuous languor
of summer, the dreamy pensiveness of
autumn. and the vast and mournful
dreariness of winter in the mountains,
only relieved by the lyrics of fire lit IN
teriors and the cheerful hum of the
spinning wheel. all found in him a per-
feet response.
How should he find a sympathizer
among these people who scarce could
have found one among the most cultur-
ed and enlightened? Thinking in the
simplicity of his nature. that every II
must see things as he saw them, he
sometimes tried to express the emo
tions that surged and swelled with n
his breast; but each attempt met with
painful and humil. ating rebuffs. He
brooded over this difference between
himself and his mates until he came to
regard it as a weakness, q someth nc
to be ashamed of. and thus he came to
avoid human society more and more.
So he grew up a solitary outcast, pass
ing often whole days upon the mount
aims without the sight of a human face.
Alone with nature, his great mother
speedily comforted him. She smiled
upon him from the heavens, caressed
him with gentle breezes. and crooned a
lullaby over him as he lay outstretched
upon her broad bosom: for him, and
for him alone, did she array herself in
the most delicate colors, for him she
displayed those tragedies of the frma-
ment. What canvas could equal that
expanse of opalescent sky when the sun
sank down in cloudless ~splendor!
Could the skill of any painter hope to
initiate those splendid bursts of color,
when the king of day rose over the DIS
tant mountain tops with a ROYAL smile?
Alas, how our eyes blinded! Ten
thousand dollars for a feeble imitation,
but nothing for the great orig nal!
What wonder that his vague day
dreams and fancies should find some
nucleus about which to collect! You
would hardly have considered plump.
placid Mirandy Meeks a poets love; and
yet on this o slender foundat on of
bright eyes, rosy cheeks, and placidity,
his glowing imagination erected a vast,
aerial superstructure of imaginary
qualities. Surely never did ancient
knight endow his lady-love. his ac-
%quaintance with whom extended no
further than q glimpse Of her through
a window with more eXtravagant graces
of mind and beauties of body than Mn
ton thought he perceived in this girl.
What a subject We thing is love.
When adipose tissue collects on the
body beyond a certain point, it seems
to permeate the disposition. Mirandy
was just in this stage of %amiability, and
when her lover poured forth his long
pent-up emotions, she looked at him
with a smile which arose from the per-
feet circulation of blood, perfect health,
and a wholesome development of body
and physical powers which give tone,
color, and expression to corporal happi-
ness. But he misinterpreted it, aud his
eager heart leaped up at the thought
that he had found a friend.
The life of ~seclusion and of plant-like
semi-consciousness which he had been
leading was now broken in upon, and
he returned to the society of his fellow
creatures with a sensation as of a dull
constant pain. His joy owe this new
found sympathy was of short duration,
for Mirandy's father swore with much
energy that The wouldn't low no such
no count trlfin' Teller as him hangin'
round his darter."
In that %primative state of society,
there was not that division of labor
which exists among the more civil zed.
Mirandy's father, who in ordinary life
fulfilled the functions of agriculturist,
manufacturer, architect, and on occa-
sion even that of priest, now threaten
ed to play the part of Judge. jury, and
executioner, and glanced significantly
at the long rifle in its brackets. She
told Minton of the paternal opposition,
with her usual serenity of mind appar-
entity not in the least d sturbed.
In the mood of despair, occasioned by
this. he had gone down to the circus;
and when the professor extended his
invitation, in a ONE of bravado, to the
surprise of all, Minton stepped forward
with the wild hope of getting away!
When Minton returned partly to con-
sciousness. he hardly knew at first
whether u0 were Stll Ill Guc UOuy OF
not.
He was enveloped in a sea of roseate'
and on either side of him
rose vast mountain-like masses tinged
with the same hue. They had none of
the steep, Jagged precipitousness which
lends a savage air to mountain scenery.
He appeared to be settling down slowly
into a valley. Gradually the rosy hue
faded out and the masses became a
pure dazzling white. Vague, mobile
faces drifted past him; they regarded
him compassionately with eyes of
deepest blue. and then with odd, grotes-
que changes of countenance, they
went on by. The face of a beautiful
woman. with long locks and a sinuous
robe trailing far out behind her. passed
by; she seemed to bend over him with
pity, and he stretched out his hands i'm
ploringly; but she averted her face and
left him. Then came the face of a
venerable old man. with flowing beard
as of the finest fleece, who responded
to Minton's appeal only by a hideous